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Sagittarius
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SAGITTARIUS

KHEIRON (Chiron) was eldest and wisest of the Kentauroi (Centaurs), a Thessalian tribe of half-horse men. Unlike his brethren Kheiron was an immortal son of the Titan Kronos (Cronus) and a half-brother of Zeus. When Kronos' tryst with the nymphe Philyra was interrupted by Rhea, he transformed himself into a horse to escape notice and the result was this two-formed son.

The rest of the Kentauroi (Centaurs) were spawned by the cloud Nephele on the slopes of Mount Pelion in Magnesia where they were nursed by the daughters of Kheiron.

Kheiron was a renowned teacher who mentored many of the greatest heroes of myth including the Argonauts Jason and Peleus, the physician Asklepios (Asclepius), the demi-god Aristaios (Aristaeus) and Akhilleus (Achilles) of Troy.

The old Kentauros was accidentally wounded by Herakles when the hero was battling other members of the tribe. The wound, poisoned with Hydra-venom, was incurable, and suffering unbearable pain Kheiron voluntarily relinquished his immortality. Zeus then placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Sagittarius or Centaurus.

In ancient Greek vase painting Kheiron was often depicted with a form quite distinct from that of the other Kentauroi--he had the full body of a man, from head to foot, with a partial horse-body attached to his rump, and was clothed in a full-length chiton and boots. This unusual form might simply reflect his appearance in Greek drama where costume-limitations required a simplication of the centaurine-form. The other Kentauroi, who do not appear in Athenian drama, were depicted unclothed and with fully equine forms below the waist.

Kheiron's name was derived from the Greek word for hand (kheir) and meant something like "skilled with the hands." In myth it was also closely associated with the word kheirourgos "surgeon."
DATABASES
KHEIRON (Chiron) was eldest and wisest of the Kentauroi (Centaurs), a Thessalian tribe of half-horse men. Unlike his brethren Kheiron was an immortal son of the Titan Kronos (Cronus) and a half-brother of Zeus. When Kronos' tryst with the nymphe Philyra was interrupted by Rhea, he transformed himself into a horse to escape notice and the result was this two-formed son.

The rest of the Kentauroi (Centaurs) were spawned by the cloud Nephele on the slopes of Mount Pelion in Magnesia where they were nursed by the daughters of Kheiron.

Kheiron was a renowned teacher who mentored many of the greatest heroes of myth including the Argonauts Jason and Peleus, the physician Asklepios (Asclepius), the demi-god Aristaios (Aristaeus) and Akhilleus (Achilles) of Troy.

The old Kentauros was accidentally wounded by Herakles when the hero was battling other members of the tribe. The wound, poisoned with Hydra-venom, was incurable, and suffering unbearable pain Kheiron voluntarily relinquished his immortality. Zeus then placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Sagittarius or Centaurus.

In ancient Greek vase painting Kheiron was often depicted with a form quite distinct from that of the other Kentauroi--he had the full body of a man, from head to foot, with a partial horse-body attached to his rump, and was clothed in a full-length chiton and boots. This unusual form might simply reflect his appearance in Greek drama where costume-limitations required a simplication of the centaurine-form. The other Kentauroi, who do not appear in Athenian drama, were depicted unclothed and with fully equine forms below the waist.

Kheiron's name was derived from the Greek word for hand (kheir) and meant something like "skilled with the hands." In myth it was also closely associated with the word kheirourgos "surgeon."
Sagittarius or Chiron, son of the Titan Cronos was one of the many centaurs in Greek mythology. Chiron however differed from all of the other centaurs for for a number of reasons. One main reason was that Chiron was born half man and half horse, whereas the other centaurs were born of the sun and rain clouds. One day Chiron was accidentally shot with a poisoned arrow by Hercules. Even though he was a great physician, Chiron could not heal himself. Being immortal, Chiron could not die but was pained by the poisoned arrow. In order to die, Chiron offered to replace Prometheus who was punished by the gods for giving fire to man. As Chiron gave up his immortality to release Prometheus from his chains, Zeus king of the gods saw the kindness of Chiron and immortalized him in the stars.
The Babylonians identified Sagittarius as the god Nergal, a centaur-like creature firing an arrow from a bow.[28] It is generally depicted with wings, with two heads, one panther head and one human head, as well as a scorpion's stinger raised above its more conventional horse's tail. The Sumerian name Pabilsag is composed of two elements – Pabil, meaning 'elder paternal kinsman' and Sag, meaning 'chief, head'. The name may thus be translated as the 'Forefather' or 'Chief Ancestor'.[29] The figure is reminiscent of modern depictions of Sagittarius.

In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half human, half horse. However, perhaps due to the Greeks' adoption of the Sumerian constellation, some confusion surrounds the identity of the archer.[5] Some identify Sagittarius as the centaur Chiron, the son of Philyra and Cronus, who was said to have changed himself into a horse to escape his jealous wife, Rhea, and tutor to Jason. As there are two centaurs in the sky, some identify Chiron with the other constellation, known as Centaurus.[5] Or, as an alternative tradition holds, that Chiron devised the constellations Sagittarius and Centaurus to help guide the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece.[30]

A competing mythological tradition, as espoused by Eratosthenes, identified the Archer not as a centaur but as the satyr Crotus, son of Pan, who Greeks credited with the invention of archery.[5][31] According to myth, Crotus often went hunting on horseback and lived among the Muses, who requested that Zeus place him in the sky, where he is seen demonstrating archery.[5]

The arrow of this constellation points towards the star Antares, the "heart of the scorpion", and Sagittarius stands poised to attack should Scorpius ever attack the nearby Hercules, or to avenge Scorpius's slaying of Orion.[32]
In Greek mythology, Sagittarius represents a centaur, a half human, half horse creature with the torso of a man and the body and four legs of a horse. The centaur is depicted as aiming an arrow toward the heart of the neighbouring constellation Scorpio, represented by the red supergiant star Antares. Sometimes Sagittarius is wrongly identified as the centaur Chiron, represented by the constellation Centaurus.

Sagittarius constellation has its roots in Sumerian mythology. Eratosthenes associated it with Crotus, a mythical creature with two feet and a satyr’s tail, who was the nurse to the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus.

Eratosthenes argued that the constellation really represented a satyr and not a centaur. According to the Roman author Hyginus, Crotus was the son of Pan and the archer the constellation was named after. Crotus invented archery and lived on Mount Helicon. Because he was close to the Muses, they were the ones who asked Zeus to place him in the sky.

In Babylonian mythology, Sagittarius is associated with the centaur-like god Nergal, and depicted with two heads – one human and one panther – and also wings, and the stinger of a scorpion positioned above a horse’s tail.
Other than Virgo, the Sagittarius myth is probably the most commonly misinterpreted of all of the constellation myths.

Most interpretations conclude that the mythology of Sagittarius refers to the centaur Chiron, who was accidentally shot by Hercules (Greek mythology) with a poison arrow.  This story does indeed refer to a constellation myth, but it's actually the myth behind the constellation Centaurus, not Sagittarius.

The myth behind Sagittarius actually refers to Crotus, a satyr that lived on Mount Helicon with the Muses.  Satyrs have human heads and torsos with goat legs (and sometimes horns).

Crotus, much like Chiron, was a skilled musician and hunter.  He even invented the bow, according to Greek mythology.

It's easy to see why the myths behind Centaurus and Sagittarius often get confused.  Crotus and Chiron share a lot in common.  Both centaurs and satyrs were well known to be wild, rowdy, lustful creatures that had little respect for authority and proper manners.  Crotus and Chiron were both exceptions to their races, being instead gifted in the arts and sciences and were knowledgeable and polite to humans.  They both were known to hunt with a bow and arrow (though this is a bit misleading as centaurs did not traditionally use a bow and arrow.  Satyrs did.)  They also look a lot alike.  They have the head and torso of a man, but the bottom half of a hoofed beast.  Satyrs have two legs while centaurs have four.
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